Sparkly – I wasn’t discussing whether or not it’s assur to smoke. I was responding to someone who said that we don’t have to know what the Gedolim say in order to know if it’s assur to smoke. That is not true – if it’s assur to smoke, it is because the Gedolim say so.
In any case, I think that your statement that it is flat-out assur to smoke may be incorrect. I know Rabbanim who say that it is muttar to smoke although it is possible that they would say that it is assur to smoke to the extent that one gets addicted. One should be careful about making such definitive statements unless one has proof to back one up.